The Order of the Phoenix

A small square,

It was overgrown with messy, overgrown grass.

The houses lining the street looked eerie, many with broken windows. Under the streetlights, they gleamed with an unsettling light, resembling haunted houses.

Under the dim streetlights, with a snap, three young wizards appeared.

The youngest girl was wearing a long blue dress.

Her long, lustrous dark brown hair was pulled back and tied into pigtails; as she turned to look around, the pigtails swayed rhythmically behind her.

The girl, who was gradually growing taller, had particularly bright eyes. She deliberately picked a fight, saying, "Every time you Apparition, can't you be a little gentler, Hermione?"

"This time it was William who used Apparition, not me, Anne!"

Another girl clenched her fist, her tone sharp and confrontational.

She wore skinny jeans and a beige short-sleeved top, which perfectly accentuated her slender figure.

Her hair fell loosely over her shoulders, but it was no longer messy; instead, it was incredibly soft.

Hermione still smelled of shampoo, a light and alluring scent.

"Then I'm going to report you to the Ministry of Magic for secretly learning Apparition before you're even an adult." Anne said, hands on her hips.

"Go ahead, I don't know who it is, but they've been pestering me to learn Apparition lately."

Hermione pursed her lips and said:

"Then we can even share a room in Azkaban."

"You have no proof that I'm studying." Anne glared at her with her dark green eyes.

Hermione raised her pointed chin, looked at William, and said softly in her sweet voice, "William is my witness."

"I would never forge a certificate for you!"

"Really? You and Luna secretly played his game console yesterday and even deleted his save data..."

Hermione tilted her head and said smugly, "That's right, it was me who told on you last night."

Anne glared at Hermione resentfully.

She said... she had even prepared an alibi, intending to frame Bobocha for spilling water, but her brother still saw through her plan.

It turns out Hermione was secretly tattling!

William pretended not to hear and ignored the two of them.

Anne is now arguing with Hermione, and she always loses more often than she wins, so she can only rely on being shameless and thick-skinned.

Upon closer examination, it's possible that they might not even gain the upper hand very often.

But these bickerings happen every day? When he's not around? They actually stop arguing.

How strange!

The three of them walked along the grass, crossed the road, and came to the sidewalk.

"Why are we here?" Anne asked, looking around.

The Order of the Phoenix meetings haven't been held here recently.

"A traitor? Stealing intelligence?" William pulled out a piece of parchment. "So they changed positions."

Take a look at this, and remember the address.

Professor Dumbledore used the Fidelius Charm to hide Sirius's house.

Hermione and Anne looked down and saw that it was written on the parchment:

The Order of the Phoenix's headquarters are located at 12 Grimmauld Place, London.

William snapped his fingers, and the parchment burst into flames. The paper curled up and burned, then drifted to the ground.

Soon, right before Hermione and Anne's eyes, a dilapidated doorway appeared out of nowhere.

Walls and gloomy windows also appeared, making it look like an extra house had suddenly expanded, squeezing out everything on both sides.

The house was so dilapidated that the black paint on the door had peeled off in large chunks and was covered in scratches.

The silver door knocker was shaped like a coiled snake. There was no keyhole or other markings on the door.

William drew his wand and knocked on the door.

A loud clanging of metal and the rattling of chains filled the air. The door creaked open.

After crossing the threshold, the three entered a pitch-black Entrance Hall.

It smelled damp and grayish, with a rotten odor.

It feels like we've stumbled upon the Tomb of the Living Dead.

Like a voice-activated switch, a row of old-fashioned gas lamps on the wall lit up, casting a dim light.

A spiderweb-like chandelier overhead flickered with an eerie light, illuminating the picture frames on the wall that had darkened with age.

Hurried footsteps sounded as Tonks emerged from the room.

Her hair color changed again, this time to a garish Barbie pink that's hard for most people to pull off.

Tonks strode over, arms crossed, looking menacing. "You're late, William. Everyone's waiting for you."

"Something came up," William explained. "I just exchanged some information with a friend."

"Intelligence? Your little bird again?" Tonks raised an eyebrow, nudged William with his elbow, and asked curiously, "How much do you pay that guy?"

She knew William kept many little birds, and she was one of them... specifically for gathering intelligence.

"You want me to give you a raise again?" William asked.

"If you'd like, that's fine too," Tonks said expectantly.

"Willing my ass." William rolled his eyes. "You're just inflating prices. Hiring you would be a loss for us."

Don't expect me to give you another raise unless you become the Head of the Auror Office.

"You think I'd be your intelligence agent after becoming the Head of the Auror Office?" Tonks said disdainfully. "I'll arrest you first!"

William said slyly, "Then I'll expose your identity as an intelligence agent. We'll trade one for one."

Tonks pursed his lips, then grinned at Hermione and Anne:

"Long time no see, you two little girls. Ginny is waiting for you upstairs."

"What is she doing?" Anne asked.

"Hmm... oh... cleaning, she's been doing that for three days now."

"..."

"Let's go, William, the meeting is about to begin," Tonks urged.

William nodded slightly, turned to the two girls behind him, and said softly, "I'm going to a meeting. See you later."

Hermione and Anne nodded and walked toward the other room.

Tonks led the way through the dark corridor.

On either side were long curtains riddled with wormholes, which they passed around a large umbrella frame that looked like it was made from a Troll's severed leg.

There's also a two-meter-long bat on one side, used as a shoe rack.

This doesn't seem to be a home, but rather a dark wizard's laboratory.

Tonks pushed open the door, and William followed him inside.

It was almost as dark as the Entrance Hall above, a cave-like room with rough stone walls all around.

Most of the light came from a large fireplace at the far end of the room.

The smoke billowing from the pipes filled the air, like the smoke of gunpowder on a battlefield.

The dark ceiling and the heavy iron pots and pans hanging from it looked menacing and terrifying in the smoke.

Inside the room was a long table, with wizards sitting on both sides.

A meeting of the Order of the Phoenix is about to be held here.

When William walked in, everyone stopped talking and stared intently at him.

William was the youngest wizard present, and the only minor.

Dumbledore stood up and said with a gentle smile, "William, please find somewhere to sit."

William looked up and around, then was speechless.

The headmaster said we could sit anywhere, but... there was only one empty seat between Sirius and Snape.

It seems to have been reserved specifically for him.

None of you wanted to sit between the two of them, afraid of getting splattered with blood... afraid of being bitten by a dog... afraid of smelling something strange... afraid of being talked at sarcastically...

Am I not afraid?

William glanced at Dumbledore's seat, but the headmaster seemed to know what he was thinking and immediately sat back down.

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